I love me some Z32 300ZX TT action. Actually, one of the other cars I was looking at when I got the Miata was a white TT with red leather interior. Pretty damn clean, and with low miles, and it was actually priced about the same as the Miata. The interior on those are beautiful. Well, everything on those are beautiful. Another car on my list of toys to own when I can afford to have a few money pits.

I work for a rotary shop, so DON'T take my advice with a grain of salt: Stay away. The wiring harness on these cars is more fragile than a mink vase (extreme heat + 15/20 years + non-TXL wire = epic fail), the solenoids fail one after the other, and this big boy has 17 solenoids under the hood. Seventeen!! Sure, it still looks badass 20 years after bad really, you are asking for trouble if you are buying one now.

I work for a rotary shop, so DON'T take my advice with a grain of salt: Stay away. The wiring harness on these cars is more fragile than a mink vase (extreme heat + 15/20 years + non-TXL wire = epic fail), the solenoids fail one after the other, and this big boy has 17 solenoids under the hood. Seventeen!! Sure, it still looks badass 20 years after bad really, you are asking for trouble if you are buying one now.

Dimitris

Absolutely... true. I've had 3 RX7's, 2 were 12A FB's, so not much critical wiring, but one was a Turbo II and that son of a bitch was nothing but problems from day one with wiring and solenoids. Wiring was brittle and would snap clean through if bent, and solenoids were failing, and plugs were breaking off of them left and right. I finally just deleted all emissions and patched up the wiring best I could, but never could get it to run 100% or idle worth a damn. For having over 200k miles though, it ran OK mechanically. The guy I sold it to apparently fixed all of the emissions crap and got it running decently before he sold it. Great cars if you plan to do a full rebuild of the engine, and build a new harness and go stand alone, or source a good condition used harness. Even running poorly with a poor idle, it was still pretty quick and would run like a raped ape with only a Rtek ecu chip, larger injectors and about 14psi on the stock turbo. Never had any real mechanical issues out of it, even though the trans did sound about as bad as the one in my Miata.

Now that I'm aware of all the RX7 issues, I am officially convinced that the 3rd gen RX-7 is the greatest car ever made to do an LS V8 swap with. Again, if they cost 15 grand fir just the car...then I'd imagine total would be around $30,000 for the car and completed LS swap done cleanly and correctly. Therefore, it's much cheaper to do the same swap to a miata, and it's still lighter. Miata wins again.

Now that I'm aware of all the RX7 issues, I am officially convinced that the 3rd gen RX-7 is the greatest car ever made to do an LS V8 swap with. Again, if they cost 15 grand fir just the car...then I'd imagine total would be around $30,000 for the car and completed LS swap done cleanly and correctly. Therefore, it's much cheaper to do the same swap to a miata, and it's still lighter. Miata wins again.

Wrong. A decent roller for the FD is around 5k. When doing the math, the Miata actually cost a bit more to do, and as far as weight, your looking at about a 200 pound difference.

I'm not looking to steer you away from a swapped Miata, but just letting everyone know the reality. Perception vs reality can really be distant from each other.

I work for a rotary shop, so DON'T take my advice with a grain of salt: Stay away. The wiring harness on these cars is more fragile than a mink vase (extreme heat + 15/20 years + non-TXL wire = epic fail), the solenoids fail one after the other, and this big boy has 17 solenoids under the hood. Seventeen!! Sure, it still looks badass 20 years after bad really, you are asking for trouble if you are buying one now.

Dimitris

i would hope that most people buying these cars nowadays are enthusiasts who know what to look for.. but you know, poulous malakes out there...

Quote:

Originally Posted by chpmnsws6

They all were priced too high for Americans toward the end of their era.

The Supra was slow when stock, but had great potential- crap 80's interior
The RX7 was great, but the engines are far from reliable- good interior
The 300ZX never caught on, but it really was a nice car with great potential.
The 3GT TT- a freakin PIG, eats transmissions, turbo's, and everything else..... Typical Mitsu "quality".

are you even comparing models of the same era?

in the 80s, the rx7, supra and Z came in NA and turbo versions.. the turbo versions were considered fast back then - not sure if you recall or not, but this was during and slightly after the gas crisis. there is a reason why the S130 280ZX had a mini fuel gauge inside the normal fuel gauge. all of those cars were popular for that time and sold well. even the NA models were still considered fairly quick.

the z32 turned everything around, from performance to styling - having that much power with that type of handing performance was very cutting edge. combine this with the fact that the Z was and still is one of the MOST POPULAR and successful sportscars... you gotta be kidding me of you think the car didnt "catch on." look at the production figures in comparison to the supra and FD, the Z32 sold over 100k in the States. it took toyota ~2.5 years to release the MKIV Supra.. which was a bit better than the Z in every aspect, but also more expensive.

remember, it was only here in the states that these cars stopped sales. overseas the mr2 sold till 99, the Z32 till 99, and the RX7 i think also sold till 02. even the s13 hatch sold overseas continually from 89-98... thats a pretty long haul for ONE model.

as for the 3000gt... well, i dont pay attention to cars with motors mounted sideways

as for the 3000gt... well, i dont pay attention to cars with motors mounted sideways

Ha ha ha, yes. This part of your post is full of win.

But you can get an FD for fairly cheap. One just went up here for.... $5700 CAD I think? It was just shy of $6K CAD. Was upgraded to an HKS single turbo, APR wing, RE Amemiya bodykit and scissor doors (gay). Yes, it was manual. I've never seen an FD around here go for more than $8K CAD, regardless of modifications or mileage or whatnot. MkIV Supras are a bit different.... with lightly modified ones getting close to $30K, which is gay.... eff that.

But you can get an FD for fairly cheap. One just went up here for.... $5700 CAD I think? It was just shy of $6K CAD. Was upgraded to an HKS single turbo, APR wing, RE Amemiya bodykit and scissor doors (gay). Yes, it was manual. I've never seen an FD around here go for more than $8K CAD, regardless of modifications or mileage or whatnot. MkIV Supras are a bit different.... with lightly modified ones getting close to $30K, which is gay.... eff that.

But the rest lacked reading comprehension.

If you read my post again, American perception was the name of the game, and when they died off here in the states, you could get a new C4-C5 for the same price....... The holy grail of the sports car buyer in the middle class. The people who could afford the cars were not those of us who grew up around fancy imports and equality, but instead they grew up having three choices to choose from- Ford, GM, or Dodge.

Like I said in another post, perception Vs reality can be very distant from each other at times, and this was one of those times. I'd buy an FD LOOOONNNGGG before a C4. Far more nimble, lighter, quicker, and minus the engine bays always catching on fire, solenoid failures and apex seals, I'd almost go so far to say as more reliable (Damn Opti!!!!!)

Exactly. I agree with the last part of your post the most. The easiest fix? Get rid of that garbage plastic crap under the hood, get a better venting hood and a bumper that flows more air. Boom. Goodbye C4... ha ha ha.

But you are correct. Those that could afford opted for the American Tested and True Corvette or Mustang if they wanted performance... even though the Mustang can't deliver what any enthusiast wants and the Corvette is way overpriced, IMO.

There are frequently rx7s listed for around ~10k in stock or near stock condition around here. I almost bought a perfect rollie with a fucked engine for $8k. I would never drive a FD with a stock engine. LSx FTMW.

In several years, I will probably have 3 cars: turbo miata for badassery, forester xt for mundanery, LS rx7 for dailydrivery. I think a budget of around 12K is required for a decent rx7 ls build and that doesn't include the car. I would be interested in a supra but one modified turbo car is enough to handle.

There are frequently rx7s listed for around ~10k in stock or near stock condition around here. I almost bought a perfect rollie with a fucked engine for $8k. I would never drive a FD with a stock engine. LSx FTMW.

In several years, I will probably have 3 cars: turbo miata for badassery, forester xt for mundanery, LS rx7 for dailydrivery. I think a budget of around 12K is required for a decent rx7 ls build and that doesn't include the car. I would be interested in a supra but one modified turbo car is enough to handle.

I'd say $12k is probably doable, but I would budget for $15k to avoid cutting corners. If I was that rich, I would be ALL over an LS1 FD build. I regret not buying an FD from a local guy I kind of know several years ago. He was letting it go for a hair under $10k, and it ran and was on a rebuilt and ported engine and an upgraded turbo. Also was white, one of my favorite FD colors.

But you can get an FD for fairly cheap. One just went up here for.... $5700 CAD I think? It was just shy of $6K CAD. Was upgraded to an HKS single turbo, APR wing, RE Amemiya bodykit and scissor doors (gay). Yes, it was manual. I've never seen an FD around here go for more than $8K CAD, regardless of modifications or mileage or whatnot. MkIV Supras are a bit different.... with lightly modified ones getting close to $30K, which is gay.... eff that.

Please show me some cheap ones up here. I am looking for one to work on. You must be in BC.

I'd say $12k is probably doable, but I would budget for $15k to avoid cutting corners. If I was that rich, I would be ALL over an LS1 FD build. I regret not buying an FD from a local guy I kind of know several years ago. He was letting it go for a hair under $10k, and it ran and was on a rebuilt and ported engine and an upgraded turbo. Also was white, one of my favorite FD colors.

Ok, so that means a outlay of $20K. Ouchers. I've never paid that much for a car. The most I paid was for my '03 Miata which was 16K back in '04.

Maybe they will be much cheaper by the time I am willing to pay that much for another car.